A Day At the Beach
by SethRocks
Summary: Everyone in the class plus Marc decide to head to the beach for a day and fun times are had.


Nathaniel taps his pencil against the notebook on his desk, only paying a little bit of attention to whatever the teacher is saying. The last class of the day is his least favorite and he's ready for the bell to ring so he can enjoy his weekend since it's Friday. After what feels like forever, the bell rings and he slides his stuff into his bag before getting up and heading to the doorway so he can head to the art room and enjoy some peace while working on stuff for his and Marc's comic. As soon as he walks outside the door, he feels a tap on his shoulder and turns around to see a visibly excited girl with pigtails smiling at him.

"Oh, hey Marinette", he says as he smiles back at her.

"Hey, Nath. A bunch of us are going to be heading to Normandy tomorrow to hang out on a beach. I was wondering if you would like to come with. You can invite Marc too since I assume you're heading to the art room to work with him today."

Nath thinks it over and smiles more. "That sounds like fun. I'm in. I'll ask Marc if he wants to go once I see him. Just text me the details once you have a chance."

Marinette beams at him. "Sure thing. See you tomorrow Nath."

He waves at her as she leaves before resuming his usual walk to the art room. After about a minute, he gets there and sees a dark-haired boy sitting at a table, focused on writing in a notebook. He smiles more and approaches the table before sitting down. Marc looks up and smiles. "Hi Nathaniel.", he says while looking at the redheaded boy. Nathaniel smiles back and starts pulling his sketchbook out along with a pencil.

"Hey, Marc. How's the story coming along?"

"Pretty well so far. I have the plot for the next volume generally planned out. Now I just have to work on dialogue. Would you like to read through it and see what you think of it?"

"Sure.", Nath says and takes the notebook from Marc who slides it to him.

He looks it over and nods in approval. "This all sounds good. I'm excited to see the dialogue you come up with.", the artist says as he hands the notebook back to the other boy.

Marc smiles and takes the notebook back before picking his pencil up and beginning to write on a new page. Nath watches him for a couple of seconds before remembering his conversation with Marinette. "Oh, Marinette stopped me when I was starting to head over here. She said that some people from our class are heading to the beach tomorrow and want to know if you would like to come with them. I told her that I would go with. I haven't been to the beach in a while and it sounds nice to have a fun day."

Marc hums and looks up at Nathaniel. "That does sound nice. Yeah, I would like to go."

Nath smiles widely at Marc. "That's great. I'll text Marinette and let her know.", the artist says before pulling his phone out and doing just that.

She texts him back almost instantly, letting him know that a bus would be there to pick him up in the morning and to be ready at around eight am. He wonders why there will be a bus. Before he can ask her, she texts him with the answer which is that Adrien was able to convince Chloe to have her father rent a bus so the whole class could go together. He texts back a thumbs up and tells Marc everything that he was told before they resume their usual business.

They work for about an hour then part ways and head to their respective homes. Upon arriving home, Nath decides that as much as he despises doing his homework, it would probably be best to get it done now so he won't have to worry about it for the rest of the weekend. He changes into more comfortable clothes then sits down and diligently works on his schoolwork. He gets it done rather quickly and decides to just relax a little while making a list of everything that he will need for tomorrow.

At around seven, his mom calls up to him that dinner is ready. He sets the list down and heads downstairs. He takes his usual place at the table and starts eating, enjoying the food that his mom made. He makes small talk with her in between bites and informs her of the trip he'll be on tomorrow. She smiles and tells him to have fun, but be careful before she heads upstairs to head to bed. Nath finishes his dinner and places the dish and utensils into the dishwasher before heading upstairs to pack his bag for tomorrow.

He looks over the list and checks things off as he puts them into a backpack: a pair of sunglasses, sunscreen, some snacks, an extra change of clothes, a large towel, a water bottle, his sketchbook, and his small case containing pencils, colored pencils, and markers. After that, he takes a deep breath and gets ready for bed. He goes through his nightly routine, brushing his teeth and washing his face, and gets into his bed.

He sets alarms for 6:30 am and 7:00 am before settling comfortably in bed and dozing off. He is jolted awake by his alarm at 6:31 am. The redhead blindly reaches for his phone and squints his eyes at it while trying to turn it off. After a few failed attempts, he finally succeeds in silencing it before groaning and forcing himself out of bed, staggering to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He brushes his teeth and gets his hair to its usual style before getting dressed in his swimsuit: a pair of swim trunks and a thin t-shirt.

He then heads to his room and double-checks his bag, making sure he has everything he needs before heading downstairs with his bag to eat some breakfast before the bus arrives. He eats a piece of toast and some scrambled eggs. After he finishes eating, he cleans up the mess and waits in the living room. After a short wait, the bus arrives and he heads outside.

Nath quickly gets onto the bus and takes a seat next to Alix, who nods at him in greeting. He takes out a sketchbook and starts doodling random things. Without realizing it, he starts drawing a pair of eyes, filled with the brightest light he's ever seen. Then he works on a slightly upturned button nose. Then a pair of lips that he's spent enough time staring at to memorize every detail. Next comes the hair that looks incredibly soft to the touch, but he's never been bold enough to feel it.

Then a heart-shaped face that he would love to feel resting on his chest. As he finishes adding the last few details, he sees Marc staring back at him. He feels movement next to him and notices that Alix is looking over his shoulder. His face flushes and he tries to tilt it so she can't see what's drawn, but her hand darts out and she snatches the sketchbook from him. He sighs and doesn't fight her, knowing it's pointless.

He stays silent as she looks over the drawing. She quickly chuckles and hands it back to him. "You've got it bad, don't you, Kurtzberg?", she asks jokingly. He shakes his head and frowns at her. She notices and stops chuckling before laying a hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I'm not trying to tease you. I'm going to be honest with you. I think you should ask him out. He's gotten really close to you and I've noticed the way he looks at you. I'm pretty sure he likes you.", she says bluntly but kindly.

Nath just nods, not sure if he can believe her. She frowns, not sure what to say and decides to just pat his shoulder before beginning to play a game on her phone. He looks down at the sketchbook resting on his lap and thinks over his friend's words. Maybe she's right and he should take a chance but it seems like that every person he's had feelings for hasn't returned them, so why should this time turn out any differently.

Before he can think any more on it, the bus rolls to a stop and the driver parks. A door is soon heard closing as the person that came through it locks it. Nathaniel looks up and fights the urge to drop his jaw. Marc turns around after locking the front door and Nath feels his breath catch in his throat as his focus is completely taken by the amount of skin that is showing.

Marc's choice of wear for the day is a red swimsuit which consists of a black pair of flip flops, a pair of shorts (that should be illegal because of how short they are), and a short tank top which shows the entirety of the writer's stomach. The shorts stop along Marc's upper thighs, outlining every curve and not leaving much to the imagination. The bottom of the tank top stops along the top of the dark-haired boy's ribcage.

Nath feels his face heat up as Marc starts walking towards the bus on long, smooth legs. He starts imagining how those legs would feel to touch and then shakes his head slightly, cursing his hormones. He knows he shouldn't be having those kinds of thoughts right now. He feels something bump into his arm and looks over to see Alix smirking and shoving a water bottle at him. He raises an eyebrow as he gives her a quizzical look.

"I just thought you needed some water. You're looking pretty thirsty.", she explains. He is confused for a few seconds then understands what she is insinuating. He glares at her while she tries to contain her laughter.

"Not a word.", he hisses out as the bus door is opened and Marc walks up the steps, looking around once he reaches the top one.

He spots Nathaniel and instantly heads down the aisle to where he's sitting. He sits down in the seat in front of where Alix and Nath are sitting before setting his bag down onto the seat next to him. He turns around and waves at the pair. The latter of the two quickly closes his sketchbook and slides it into his bag. Marc gives him a curious look but doesn't mention Nath's actions.

He starts chatting with Nath about the comic, telling him how much of the dialogue he's gotten done and describing it to him. Nathaniel listens intently, picturing how he's going to draw some of the scenes that Marc is mentioning. After a little bit, they settle comfortably and do their own things: Marc working on the comic some more and Nath just coloring some of his sketches, more specifically the one that he did earlier of the very person sitting in front of him.

He finishes it and decides to spend the rest of the ride just playing a game on his phone. After about three and a half hours of a slightly bumpy ride and people talking and the driver stopping twice for someone to use the bathroom, they finally arrive at the area where the beach is. The driver parks the bus and everyone begins getting off while making sure they have all their belongings. Nath picks up his backpack and walks behind Marc as the bus becomes empty rather quickly, everyone hurrying since they're excited for a fun day at the beach.

As Marc, Nath, and Alix walk off of the bus, Kim starts taunting Alix and egging her on to a race to the water. She accepts his challenge and the two take off running. Everyone chuckles at their antics as they take their own paces to the sand and water. Nath walks next to Marc and he can't help but notice that he can smell the writer's shampoo because of their close proximity.

The aroma of what he thinks to be orange and coconut fills his nose. He smiles and rents an umbrella from a stand nearby before going to look around the beach for a quiet spot. He spots one close to the food stands and gift shops that litter the beach. "Want to set up over there?", he asks Marc. The green-eyed boy nods and starts heading in that direction. Nathaniel follows and sets up the large umbrella before pulling his towel out of his bag and laying it down under one half of the shade offered by the umbrella.

Nath then sits down on his beach towel and just watches his classmates. He does so quietly, just enjoying the smell of the water and the light breeze. He watches as a few people just lay down their towels and set up umbrellas so they can sit comfortably in the shade just as he's doing while others have taken to the water. He watches Alya and Marinette chatting with Nino and Adrien while Alix and Kim are engaging in some kind of splash war, with Max watching them as he probably calculates odds to predict the winner.

The redhead also glances over to see Chloe laying comfortably on a lounge chair as she sips a cold drink while Sabrina uses a fan to cool her down more. Nath wants to roll his eyes at the typical scene of Sabrina practically worshiping the blond girl but doesn't. He then pays attention to the couples in his class like Mylene and Ivan and Rose and Juleka who have taken to staying in the shade, cuddled up together.

He decides to apply some sunscreen so he doesn't forget. Nathaniel pulls out the sunscreen bottle from his backpack and quickly applies some to his face, arms, and legs. Then, he puts it away and pulls out his water bottle. He sips some before placing it down on the ground next to him. As he does, Marc pulls a towel out of his bag and carefully lays it down.

The taller boy then sits down on the towel and takes out a bottle of sunscreen. He squeezes a little onto his fingers and starts spreading it over his legs, making sure to rub it in completely. Nath watches out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to stare. Marc finishes applying the sunscreen to his legs and moves on to his arms. He does them thoroughly and then does his face quickly before squeezing more lotion out and attempting to rub it into his shoulders. He struggles for a few seconds before a voice catches his and Nath's attention. They look up to see bluebell eyes and a kind smile.

"You're having a lot of trouble Marc. You look like you need help with your sunscreen. Maybe Nath can help you with that.", Marinette suggests in an innocent tone. Nath catches the mischievous look in her eyes and shoots her a look while discreetly shaking his head so only she sees him do it. She sees the motion and pushes down her urge to laugh as Marc looks at Nathaniel.

"I guess I do need help. Would you be alright with helping me?", he asks, looking slightly unsure of himself.

Nath doesn't trust his voice too much, so he just nods. He positions himself close to the other boy before grabbing the bottle and squeezing some out into his hand. Then he begins to rub it all over the exposed skin on Marc's back. He also makes sure to rub it in and feels his face and body heating up the longer his skin is in contact with Marc's. He finishes after a couple of minutes and settles himself back onto his towel.

"Thank you.", Marc says as he pulls a magazine out of his bag and begins reading it.

"You're welcome.", Nath simply says as he just occupies himself with people watching, hoping that Marc doesn't notice his face which is probably close to the color of his hair by now.

After about 30 minutes, some of his classmates go by and Ivan stops to look at the two boys sitting in the shade. "Hey, we're going to get ice cream. Do you guys want to come with us?", the large boy asks. Nate looks to Marc to see what he says.

"Sure.", the writer says with a small smile before getting up and following the group with Nathaniel not too far behind.

Everyone gets in line at an ice cream stand not far from their spots and waits. After a few minutes, Marc and Nathaniel arrive at the front of the line. Marc orders a chocolate ice cream cone and pays for it before moving aside so Nathaniel can order his dessert. Nathaniel looks over the small menu and orders a cup of mint chocolate chip ice cream. He stands with Marc while they wait.

After about a minute, their ice cream is brought out and they find a table to sit at, but unfortunately for the creative pair, the spot is in the sun's reach so Nate starts eating his ice cream before it melts too much. He looks at Marc and sees that the sun is already causing the sweet treat to turn liquid and go down the side of the cone.

"Oh, some is dripping.", Marc says before dragging his tongue up the side of the cone to catch the trail of melted chocolate that was making its way down to the bottom of the cone.

At the sight, Nath feels his heartbeat increase slightly while he takes quicker breaths. He tenses up as he watches Marc get all of the ice cream that was dripping and look over at him. Marc glances at Nath and notices his slightly odd behavior.

"Is something wrong?", he asks, completely oblivious, green eyes shining innocently at the redhead.

Nathaniel looks away. "No-nothing is wrong.", he stutters out, pretty sure that his whole face is red.

Marc's eyebrows furrow in confusion as he starts eating the rest of his ice cream. Nath tries to calm down as he eats his own mint chocolate chip treat. After that, they head back to their spot in the sand before deciding to approach the water where everyone else is having fun at the moment. Marc stands in the shallow water, only getting in far enough for it to lap at his lower leg.

Nath decides to stay closer to the sand and just busies himself with looking for seashells. They spend the next few hours enjoying the ocean wind as they look around at the sights the beach has to offer with Marc even managing to get Nathaniel to join him in the water. They also end up getting roped into a volleyball match between everyone there. Marc watches as Marinette ends up on Adrien's team and struggles with being close to him. She flails a couple of times and trips, having to be caught by none other than Adrien, causing her to have some mini freakouts.

Marc and Nathaniel chuckle at the sight. After what feels like a short amount of time, the time comes for everyone to pack up and head back to the bus. Everyone does so, sad that they have to leave, but all tired and ready to head home. Unlike the drive there, the drive home is mostly silent, with only a couple of people talking quietly to each other while a few people are snoring, succumbing to sleep since the ride back is long.

Marc is one of the people taking advantage of the time to have a nap, while Nathaniel decides to stay awake. He sits quietly, just watching the sights zooming past the window. However, he ends up dozing off at some point during the ride. He wakes up to Alix shaking his shoulder. Nath stretches and looks around, seeing that they are back in Paris and aren't far from his home. The bus stops at Marc's home and Nath has a quick inner debate before deciding to get off with him.

He follows the other boy off of the bus, waving bye at his friends as he does. They stop in front of the house and watch the bus drive away as they stand there in silence, which lasts for a few seconds until the taller of the two breaks it.

"I had a fun time today.", Marc says while smiling at the shorter boy. Nath smiles back.

"I did too. Maybe sometime the two of us can go hang out at the beach.", the redhead says. After saying it, Nath notices that a pink tint appears on the other boy's face, but doesn't know what to make of it.

Marc nods. "I would like that.", he shyly says.

Nath feels like his heart is melting at how adorable the other boy can be sometimes. Marc glances at his front door before returning his attention to Nathaniel. His expression becomes torn before his eyes light up with determination. He leans forward and quickly kisses the artist on the cheek before heading to his front door.

"I'll see you at school on Monday.", he yells over his shoulder.

Nath raises a hand and touches the spot where those impossibly soft lips made contact. He feels how hot his skin is and decides to go ahead and head home. He starts walking the three blocks to his house and quickly arrives there. He unlocks the door and goes inside before heading to the stairs and going up them. Nath trudges into his room and grabs his nightclothes before heading to the bathroom to take a quick shower before bed.

After the shower, he changes into his pajamas: a t-shirt and a loose pair of sweat pants. He sighs and practically falls into bed, exhausted from the eventful and fun day. He gets comfortable under his covers and after a few minutes, falls asleep, the day's events still fresh in his mind.


End file.
